Introduction
One should be aware that education has always been important for increasing mobility between social classes. A person from a lower-class background can enter the upper class by acquiring valuable skills and knowledge through education. However, the major question remains: Is the concept of social class still useful in education? The given analysis focuses on answering the latter question by drawing upon reputable sources and academic publications. The concept of social class remains highly useful in education; however, the subject requires a more nuanced understanding of parental effects, marketization, risk-society elements, and social exclusion.
Marketization and Parental Involvement
One of the key reasons social class remains useful in the education field is the impact of parents on their children’s educational outcomes. A meta-analysis found a strong association between parental expectations and student achievement (Pinquart and Ebeling, 2020). In other words, the mere educational standards set by parents have a noticeable effect on how successful their children will be in school.
Another study also supports this observation, noting that “some benefits of parental involvement are stratified by familial SES” (Tan, Lyu, and Peng, 2020, p. 241). Hence, the degree of parental involvement strongly dictates the success rate of the children. Parents with higher socio-economic status (SES) tend to be more involved, which means that their children are more likely to succeed. As a result, the parents’ social class is a major factor to consider in education if it is to be more equitable and just.
The role of SES becomes even more critical if one factors in the elements related to marketization. The article by Gewirtz, Ball, and Bowe (1994) critically examines the assumption that market systems in education provide a more democratic alternative to traditional catchment-area systems. Advocates of marketization essentially argue that allowing parents to choose their children’s schools democratizes access to education by supposedly enabling all parents to select the best educational pathways for their children regardless of socio-economic status (Gewirtz, Ball, and Bowe, 1994).
However, the paper presents a nuanced critique of such claims â it showcases how market systems, in fact, reinforce and exacerbate existing inequalities. One can identify three broad categories of families in relation to their engagement with the education market: “The Privileged,” “The Frustrated,” and “The Disconnected” (Gewirtz, Ball, and Bowe, 1994). Such groups are defined based on families’ inclination and capacity to engage with the market. “Privileged” families are both inclined to participate in the market and have the material and cultural resources to do so successfully; hence, they can secure advantageous educational opportunities for their children.
“Frustrated” families often seek to engage with the market but lack the resources to do so effectively, resulting in less favorable educational outcomes. “Disconnected” families tend to lack the inclination to engage with the market due to ideological opposition, satisfaction with local school options, or perceived barriers (Gewirtz, Ball, and Bowe, 1994). These examples demonstrate that capital and resources are crucial in determining families’ success in the education market. It suggests that the market system does not operate on a level playing field but is biased toward those with the requisite knowledge, skills, and financial means to succeed in it (Ribeiro et al., 2021).
Such bias reinforces existing class divisions â upper- and middle-class families are more likely to benefit from the system. In contrast, working-class and immigrant families are put at a disadvantage. As a result, the concept of social class remains highly relevant in education, as parents’ SES confers an advantage.
Social Exclusion
Social class has a strong impact on educational success or failure, and this impact can be mediated by social exclusion, which is why this factor remains relevant. Whitty (2001) shows that educational policy fails the working class by providing lower-quality education than the middle class. In other words, government policies should be the focal point of critique for their inadequate consideration of such sociological factors. It emphasizes the need for sociology to pay closer attention to both working-class educational failures and middle-class educational experiences.
The author states that there must be “a broader social policy framework” that accounts for class differences and enables greater equity (Whitty, 2001, p. 287). In other words, the key argument is not about social class being irrelevant. On the contrary, it is even more relevant today because the given factor needs to be expanded upon by integrating the nuances of the policy as well. If the existing policies neglect the immense importance of social class in education, the likely outcome is that the framework will further perpetuate class differences through exclusion practices.
It is irrelevant whether they intended it or not, because the inherent structure is inclined to improve the quality of education for the upper- and middle classes compared to that of the working class. Some experts in the field even advocate actively discussing the heavy class influence in classroom settings to increase awareness. For example, it is stated that educators must “increase students’ understanding of class-based inequalities at the individual, institutional, and social or cultural levels” (Moergen and Kish-Gephart, 2023, p. 11).
The main reason is that social class is one of the core forces that enables racial, sexual, gender, and disability divides due to the inherent privilege of having more influence and resources (Cole, 2022). Hence, it is critical to challenge simplistic notions that changing curricular content and teaching methods alone can boost educational achievement among the underclass. It is valid to criticize contemporary education policy because it is failing lower-class students through a social exclusion framework. Thus, social class remains relevant to education; it is even more so, as it should be expanded to account for students’ awareness and other inequities.
In general, education policy overlooks the relational nature of social class inequalities; therefore, more nuanced analyses are needed to understand the persistent educational advantage of the middle and upper classes. The government must create opportunities for working-class children to succeed within current educational frameworks. In addition, policies must address the processes of social exclusion, such as working-class exclusion from educational opportunities (Whitty, 2001). Thus, education policy should create a broader social policy framework that addresses economic inequalities alongside educational reforms.
Risk Society
If one uses the risk society lens to examine the problem of social class and education, it becomes clear that the given metric is not only relevant but also insufficiently specific. For example, Beck (2013, p. 63) essentially argues that focusing solely on social class does not fully help us understand or address the complexities and dynamics of social inequality in the contemporary global risk society.
When it comes to adult education, it was found that “integration into the job market as well as to a lesser extent on the ownership of cultural capital” (Kalenda and Kocvarova, 2020, p. 146). The latter indicates that traditional class distinctions are being reshaped by factors such as employment status and cultural capital rather than just income or wealth. However, social class, if redefined to include these factors, still massively influences who participates in learning and what kind of education they can access.
Risk-taking behavior is essential for enabling high-quality education. It was found that educators who take risks to promote professional growth tend to empower children better and engage in advocacy (Cooke, Press, and Wong, 2020). In other terms, social class can impact education by influencing the resources available to educators and children, the types of risks educators are willing or able to take, and ultimately, the quality of education provided.
As a result, social class remains relevant since it can dictate the scope of opportunities for professional development and innovation in teaching practices. While the parameters and expressions of social class evolve, especially amid global risks and a changing job market, its influence on educational opportunities, outcomes, and practices remains significant. Understanding such shifts is necessary to properly address educational inequalities and advocate for policies that promote equitable access to quality education for all societal segments.
Conclusion
In sum, it is clear that social exclusion, risk elements, marketization, and parental effects make social class still relevant in the field of education. The research and arguments presented in the literature collectively support the idea that social class is an indispensable concept for educators. Although its nuances are evolving due to educational policies and social inequalities, class remains a fundamental determinant of educational opportunities and outcomes.
Reference List
Beck, U. (2013) ‘Why ‘class’ is too soft a category to capture the explosiveness of social inequality at the beginning of the twenty-first century‘, The British Journal of Sociology, 64(1), pp. 63-74.
Cole, M. (2022) Education, equality and human rights: issues of gender, ‘race,’ sexuality, disability and social class. 5th edn. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cooke, M., Press, F. and Wong, S. (2020) ‘Educators’ risk-taking in high quality early childhood education‘, International Journal of Early Years Education, 1, pp. 1-4.
Gewirtz, S., Ball, S. J. and Bowe, R. (1994) ‘Parents, privilege and the education marketâplace‘, Research Papers in Education, 9(3), pp. 3-29.
Kalenda, J. and Kocvarova, I. (2020) ‘Participation in non-formal education in risk society‘, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 41(2), pp. 146-167.
Moergen, K. J. N. and Kish-Gephart, J. J. (2023) ‘Bringing “class” into the classroom: addressing social class privilege through management education’, Journal of Management Education, 47(1), pp. 11-39.
Pinquart, M., and Ebeling, M. (2020) ‘Parental educational expectations and academic achievement in children and adolescentsâa meta-analysis‘, Educational Psychology Review, 32, pp. 463-480.
Ribeiro, L. M. et al. (2021) ‘Parental involvement during pandemic times: challenges and opportunities’, Education Sciences, 11(6).
Tan, C. Y., Lyu, M. and Peng, B. (2020) ‘Academic benefits from parental involvement are stratified by parental socioeconomic status: a meta-analysis’, Parenting, 20(4), pp. 241-287.
Whitty, G. (2001) ‘Education, social class and social exclusion‘, Journal of Education Policy, 16(4), pp. 287-295.